Juan Carlos Unzué: “These initiatives are essential because they are the only ones that do something for us”
PAMPLONA, 7 Jun. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The Kosner Saltoki Home delivered this Wednesday to the Luzón Foundation a donation of 24,242 euros for the fight against Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), the same amount as the kilometers traveled in the Titan Desert by the team members, an “indispensable” initiative ” to continue in the fight against the ELA for the exporter and former coach Juan Carlos Unzué.
The Kosner-Saltoki Home announced before the race that it would donate 1 euro for every kilometer traveled by its members, including Miguel Indurain, to the Luzón Foundation to help in the fight against ALS, with the help of Juan Carlos Unzué.
“Sometimes you feel that you are away from this world when you have this
disease. These initiatives should be a support for the public ones, but right now they are essential because they are the only ones that do something for us. Hopefully there will come a time when they won’t be, but right now they are needed”, declared Juan Carlos Unzué at the ceremony held at the Grupo Saltoki facilities in Pamplona.
The former coach from Navarra thanked the members of the team for this donation that “will help a lot” in the fight against this disease, a cause “so in need” of financial resources to promote research.
In addition, the president of Saltoki Home, Oscar Zaldueta, highlighted the “maximum involvement” of the group in a project like this, in which they wanted a “powerful and special” team that had behind it a history “of improvement and effort”. “The support of the professionals showed that it is perfectly possible to compete to be the best and also to show solidarity with your colleagues”, he remarked.
Regarding the solidarity part, he stressed the “motivation” of knowing that each pedal stroke was a support for the fight against ALS, something that gave “meaning” to the suffering of the race. “Each kilometer was a euro and each euro a reason for hope. That additional goal gave us motivation to be so generous in our efforts and get this money to help fight this disease,” she said.
For her part, Sonia Sánchez Bernando, director of the Luzón Foundation, reiterated “how important” these donations are to increase ALS research. “You have to be aware that we are moving, but ALS exists and that everyone has to be aware of the needs to fight the disease,” she declared.
One of the big problems is the lack of movement from the institutions, which forces them to be the ones who have to “raise their voices” about their needs, since the ELA Law remained “in the drawer.” “One of the pillars that we manage is the quality of life, this money will go towards promoting a national registry of ALS patients, so that we promote visibility and the fight to promote research,” he concluded.
Finally, Miguel Indurain stressed how “complicated” the challenge was for him in the Titan Desert, a race that had to be “trained” and that sometimes became “very hard”. “The sand was hard for me, but it’s part of the desert and sometimes you have to get off and walk, it’s a tough and demanding event and you have help, but you have to know where you’re going,” he said.